Down By the Bay
by ShikonPriestess
Summary: Three girls. Three guys. Two heartbreaks. One house. Will they make it through the summer? Sometimes the only way to get there... is by the bay.


"Are we there yet? This is getting very, very serious. I'm not kidding." "Just hang on," Kagome Higurashi said. "I swear, Sango, you've got the bladder control of a two-year-old." Sango Lennox shifted her position in the sizzling hot front seat of Kagome's battered red Buick convertible. "I /i you to pull over two Snapples and Poland Springs ago." "You can pee when we get there." Kagome lowered her shades and smiled. "It will be your first experience of Ocean City. One of those MasterCard 'priceless' moments." Kagome was in no mood to stop now, not when they were almost to O.C. Not when she could already smell the salt and sweat and suntan lotion on the wind. The scrub-pine forest that lined the high-way suddenly gave way to sand and sea grass and Kagome drank in the air. Intoxicating. It was hers, all hers, all summer. And this time she'd be on her own. No more visits to a rented beach cottage with her family. No more curfews, no more rules. And, she thought with sudden wistfulness, no more Inu Yasha. Maybe it was the hot sun teasing her bare shoulders, maybe it was the promise of the ocean in the breeze, but the closer she got to Ocean City, the more she found herself recalling his kisses last summer. Not just any kisses, either. The slow-burn, take-your-time, lingering kind, the kind custom-made for a sultry afternoon on the beach. The kind that made you forget everything except you and him and maybe the sound of the waves breaking in the distance. And now, as she headed back to Ocean City, they were all Kagome could remember of the summer before. The kisses of a guy who was long gone by now, far away with his own memories of Ocean City. "Can't you pick up the pace, Kagome?" Sango's pleading voice snapped Kagome back to reality. "Two more miles," Kagome assured her. "I promise." "That's what you said two miles ago." Sango laced her hands behind her head and turned her face to the sun. "Next time, I'm riding the 'hound. At least buses have bathrooms." "They also have twitching, drooling old men who want to sleep in your lap," Kagome added. Sango was your basic first-class-only kind of traveler. Her parents were quite well off—not polo-playing, butler-hiring wealthy, but they were rich enough to keep their youngest daughter from ever riding in something as common as a bus. "When have you ever been on a Greyhound, anyway?" "I've seen commercials," Sango said, propping her legs up on the dashboard. "Besides, a girl can dream, can't she? From now on, I intend to live dangerously." /i wasn't the first word that came to mind when Kagome thought of Sango. Unpredictable, impulsive, a little flaky sometimes, but Sango was too nice to be a danger to anyone. Kagome glanced across the seat. Sango had one arm draped outside the care, her hand open to catch the wind. With the toes of her left foot, she fiddled with the radio knob, searching for a better station. Her mahogany skin glistened with a fine sheen of sweat. She was wearing a red tank top, an orange sarong, and one red flip flop with a pink fabric flower attached at the toe. Sango had designed this statement-making piece of footwear herself. She'd made a pair for Kagome, too, but in a more subdued color combo of brown and tan to match Kagome's wardrobe of hiking shorts and T- shirts. That was the difference between them. If Kagome was earth tones, Sango was all bright colors and swirling energy. She was a talented artist who saw the world not in simple blues and greens and reds, but in teals and emeralds and vermilions, a person of sudden decisions and instant enthusiasms. Sango was sweet and maybe a little sheltered but she had a rebellious streak Kagome loved. It kept her just unpredictable enough to make life interesting. Kagome had never really allowed herself to feel sheltered and safe. She'd always gone out of her way to look for challenges, from rock climbing, and skydiving to chasing A's and academic honors. She was tall, slender, and raven haired, although her hair was beginning to gain bluish highlights over time from its original ebony black. Her eyes were clear blue. She thought of them as cool and penetrating, while Sango's were laughing brown, coy and inviting. They laughed a lot together, always had, even in tough times, and they'd been inseparable since they'd met in sixth grade. Kagome had been running for class president, and Sango had volunteered to make her campaign posters. Somehow Sango had gotten hold of a giant roll of paper from the local newspaper and made a fifty foot long ad for Kagome, featuring everything from wild campaign promises- iTen Bucks for Every A!/i - to wicked caricatures of the teachers. Kagome had won in a landslide. She'd always credited Sango's artwork, but Sango maintained that Kagome, everyone's confidante, everyone's trusted friend, would have won, anyway. "Close your eyes," Kagome instructed as she rounded the familiar curve. Across a broad, flat bay was a thin strip of land, covered from end to end with everything from high-rise condos to tiny wooden cottages. Ocean City. A last, fragile outpost of land in the huge expanse of shimmering ocean, it lay before them like a fragile silver of moon in a vast blue-gray sky. It should have sunk long ago under the weight of all the hotels and restaurants and well-fed tourists. It was breathtaking and trashy, serene and wild. And it was theirs for an entire summer. "Open," Kagome commanded, "And behold paradise." Sango yanked off her sunglasses. "Whoa," she murmured. "Would you look at that? 'Ocean City Beach Body Hottie Contest.'" She pointed to a billboard on the side of the road. Two freshly panted Ken and Barbie types waved at them seductively. "That tacky sign is the first thing you notice about your new home?" Kagome wailed. "Can you blame me? Did you see the biceps on that poster boy?" Then she turned her gaze toward the town itself and let out a satisfyingly impressive gasp. "I didn't know Ocean City was so big." "It isn't, really," Kate said. "It's long, but at its widest there are only about four blocks between the bay and they ocean. Of course, on a busy summer day they do manage to squeeze a hundred people in there, give or take a few." "It looks like Oz." "It /i Oz. Oz with beaches." "Oz with guys." Sango grinned. "Shirtless, well-muscled guys." "Oz with intelligent, sensitive men who'll love us for our minds, not just our...booty." The girls laughed. "Booty" sounded completely wrong coming out of Kagome's mouth. "That's what I like about you," Sango joked, "You lead such a rich fantasy life." She reached to crank up the old Beach Boys tune on the radio as they eased onto the two-mile-long causeway that spanned at the bay. Windsurfers glided along on either side, and closer to the far shore someone was racing a Jet Ski, painting curving white wakes on the placid surface of the bay. i "No!"i Sango suddenly shouted. "The drawbridge is going up!" Traffic slowed to a stop as the bridge rose toward vertical. "Relax. It won't take long." Kagome pointed over the side of the bridge. "Look at the sailboat. It's so quaint." "This is not quaint," Sango said through clenched teeth. "This is not even remotely quaint. This is now a matter of life and death and saving what's left of your upholstery." She pushed open the door and climbed out. "Can't you hold it for a few more minutes?" Kagome asked with a laugh, just as an extremely good looking guy in a Jeep pulled to a stop beside them. "No. I'm going to that Winnebago up there. They have mini-potties. Traveling cans. What ever you call them." "A Porta-John," said the guy in the Jeep. Kagome glanced over just long enough to register a wide grin and a dimple. She watched, grinning, as Sango hobbled off. The incredible thing was, Sango would probably talk the people in that house on wheels into letting her in. Then she'd talk them into making her a quick sandwich, too. The Winnebago door opened, and an elderly woman in a bright pink sundress leaned out. Sango spoke with her for a moment, then glanced back and gave Kagome the thumbs-up. "Here for the summer?" Kate turned. The guy had moved over to the passenger's seat of his Jeep. He was very blond, very tan, very gorgeous. He had on a ratty blue Yale T- shirt and a pair of wire-rimmed sunglasses. She wondered what color his eyes were and put her money on green. "Kouga Daniels." He lowered the shades. Emerald greens. Bingo. "Kagome." Her last name could wait. He could be an ax murderer, for all she knew. "Looks like your friend made it just in time." "We've been on the road all day," Kagome explained. She wiped her damp forehead with the back of her arm. With the car standing still, the intense Jun sun was baking the ragged black seats. Even in her pale blue T-shirt and frayed cut-offs, she was over-heating. She wished she'd thought to wear her new bathing suit for the trip. "So you doing the summer thing in O.C. or just down here for the weekend?" "I have a job. An internship, really, at a place called Safe Seas." "Yeah, I've heard of it. The fish people." "Marine conservation." "Right. Fish, like I said. I'm guarding with the Beach Patrol." Her heart picked up speed a little. Inu Yasha had been a life guard last summer. Kouga might have known him, might even still be in touch with him. "Did you guard here last summer?" "Nope. This is my first year." Kagome felt strangely disappointed until she reminded herself she didn't care about Inu Yasha anymore. He could be life guarding in Maui and it wouldn't matter to her. "I just graduated," Kouga said. He shook his head, as if he couldn't quite believe it. "Free at last." Kagome flicked the gold tassel swinging from her review mirror. "Me too." She pointed towards the Winnebago. "Both of us, actually." Up ahead the drawbridge finally began to lower. A few cars blared their horns, a mixture of impatience and celebration. Kagome beeped hers, too, mostly to get Sango in gear. "I don't suppose you know anyplace in town to stay, do you?" Kouga asked. "We're staying in a cottage the Safe Seas people lined up for me." Kouga's eyes lit up. "But they tell me it's tiny," she added quickly. "Miniscule. Barely big enough for us. Incredibly—" "Small," Kouga finished for her. "No prob. I got a late start on house hunting. And I hear that O.C.'s a total madhouse. By March the whole place is booked. My family came here for years when I was a kid, and we always used to reserve a place a year in advance." Traffic began to move forward. Kagome leaned on her horn and was relieved to see the Winnebago door open. "Good luck," she yelled to Kouga. "You too," he said, putting his Jeep into gear. Sango leaned out the door to the Winnebago, and Kagome drove up to meet her. Sango hopped in on the left side, into the backseat then bounced up to the front. As she settled into the seat, Kouga honked and gave a goodbye wave. "Jeez, Kagome. I leave you for five minutes and you're already putting the moves on some poor unsuspecting guy," Sango teased. "You know, I have a feeling this summer's going to be good for both of us. I'm going to reinvent myself and in the meantime I'll be here to make sure you have a life." Me? I happen to have the most incredible summer job in the world waiting for me." "I meant a /i life." "How about if I just fall in love with my work?" "You can count only so many fish eggs." "I i be counting fish eggs, Sango," Kagome replied. Or would she? She'd been so excited about being selected for an internship at the Safe Seas Foundation that she'd forgotten to ask for a job description. Kagome's gaze was drawn to the top of the Ocean City Grand Hotel, the tallest point on the skyline. It sat on one of the nicest stretches of the beach—the beach where she'd first met Inu Yasha. The same beach, in fact, where they'd very nearly made love late one evening after the lights of the boardwalk were extinguished and the mood had sunk under the horizon. iThat's all over,/i she reminded herself firmly. He'd moved away, and she'd moved on. And today was a day for new beginnings. They picked up steam and rolled over to the top of the drawbridge, the sweet, salty wind whipping their hair to a frenzy. The city lay at their feet, the ocean beyond, beckoning like an old fried. "We're here, Kagome," Sango cried. "We're free." "And we're /i They were finally on their own. Free from families, free from expectations, free, at last, from high school. And maybe even free, Kagome hoped, from memories. 


End file.
